Duncan Armstrong

Duncan Armstrong

Personal information
Full name	Duncan John D'Arcy Armstrong
Nationality	Australia
Born	7 April 1968 (1968-04-07) (age 43) Rockhampton, Queensland
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	74 kg (160 lb)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Stroke(s)	Freestyle
Club	Western Australia
College team	University of Florida
Medal record Men's swimming Competitor for  Australia Olympic Games Gold 1988 Seoul 200 m freestyle Silver 1988 Seoul 400 m freestyle Commonwealth Games Gold 1986 Edinburgh 400 m freestyle

Duncan John D'Arcy Armstrong, OAM, (born 7 April 1968) is a former Australian swimmer and Olympic gold medalist.

Armstrong was a freestyle swimmer in international competition during the 1980s, who won gold in the 200-metre freestyle at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. He is currently a swimming commentator on Channel Nine's Wide World of Sports and is also a well-known swimming safety advocate. He attended the selective Brisbane State High School.

Duncan Armstrong was born in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia. He was coached by the flamboyant Laurie Lawrence, and made his debut in the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland, where he won gold in the 400-metre freestyle and the 4x200-metre freestyle relay. However, the Australian selectors controversially rested him from the 200-metre event even though he was the national champion in the event.

Armstrong arrived in Seoul as a rank outsider, facing the trio of past and current world record holders in the 200-metre event, Matt Biondi of the United States, Artur Wojdat of Poland and Michael Gross of West Germany. As a back-end swimmer, Lawrence devised a plan for Armstrong to swim as close to Biondi in the adjacent lane as possible, benefiting from Biondi's wake. It worked, with Armstrong storming home in the last fifty metres to claim gold with a world record time of 1 minute 47.25 seconds.

Armstong attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he swam for coach Randy Reese's Florida Gators swimming and diving team in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition in 1988 and 1989. He was named an All-American in the 400-metre and 800-metre freestyle in 1989.^[1]

Armstrong supporting Frontline Charity Appeal in 2008.

Later in the 400-metre, Armstrong was once again slow out of the blocks, turning last at the 100-metre mark, and still being second last at the 300-metre mark. However he stormed home, and in a photo finish, claimed the silver medal behind East Germany's Uwe Dassler. He had carved more than five seconds off his previous personal best. For his efforts, Armstrong was awarded the Young Australian of the Year award for 1989.

Armstrong was again the favourite as the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland approached in 1990. However, a bout of glandular fever forced him to withdraw. He proceeded to compete at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics but was a shadow of his former self. He retired from competitive swimming after the Games. In June 1998, at the age of 30, he announced that he would come out retirement and commence training for the 200-metre freestyle for the 2000 Summer Olympics, as Australia had won the 4x200-metre freestyle event in that year's World Championships, and were expected to win in Sydney, with the likes of Ian Thorpe, Grant Hackett and Michael Klim. However, after two months of training, Armstrong announced that he would abandon his comeback and retire again. Australia, led by Thorpe, proceeded to win the gold in the relay event by over five seconds.

Honours

• 12 June 1989: Medal of the Order of Australia in recognition of service to swimming^[2]
• 23 June 2000: Australian Sports Medal^[3]
• 1 January 2001: Centenary Medal for service to Australian society through the sport of swimming^[4]

Life after competition swimming

Armstrong was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an "Honor Swimmer" in 1996.^[5] In 2008, Armstrong was guest speaker at a Charity Appeal to raise funds for the Frontline.^[6][7] He is also a swimming commentator on television.

See also

	Biography portal
	Olympics portal
	Swimming portal

• Florida Gators
• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists
• List of University of Florida alumni
• List of University of Florida Olympians

References

1. ^ University of Florida Swimming & Diving 2008–2009 Media Guide, Gator History & Records, Gator All-Americans By Year, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, p. 92 (2008).
2. ^ ARMSTRONG, Duncan John D'Arcy, It's an Honour.
3. ^ ARMSTRONG, Duncan John, It's an Honour.
4. ^ ARMSTRONG, Duncan John, It's an Honour.
5. ^ International Swimming Hall of Fame, Honorees, Duncan Armstrong (AUS). Retrieved 23 July 2011.
6. ^ Frontline article Retrieved 18 May 2009
7. ^ Frontline Retrieved 18 May 2009

Bibliography

• Andrews, Malcolm (2000). Australia at the Olympic Games. New South Wales: Australian Broadcasting Corporation. pp. 13–14. ISBN 0-7333-0884-8. 

External links

• Duncan Armstrong at the Internet Movie Database

Persondata
Name	Armstrong, Duncan
Alternative names	Armstrong, Duncan John D'Arcy
Short description	All-American college swimmer, Australian international swimmer, Olympic gold medalist
Date of birth	7 April 1968
Place of birth	Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia
Date of death
Place of death